New types of evening activities are popping up at luxury hotels across the country, alongside wine tastings and wellness classes. The hotel lounge has a mahjong table filled with players learning the difference between pun and chow while sipping cocktails and bar snacks.
Facilities ranging from mountain resorts in Colorado to urban hotels in Washington, D.C., are partnering with local instructors and established mahjong groups to add beginner mahjong clinics, open play nights, and multi-day camps to their event calendars. Some are structured as guided lessons for first-time players. Other events function more like regular social gatherings, bringing hotel guests and locals to lounges and restaurants for hours at a time.
Of course, mahjong itself is nothing new. “The origins of this game actually date back to the late 1800s in China,” says author Nicole Wong. Mahjong: House Rules of the Asian Diaspora. It is a game traditionally played by four players using a set of 144 tiles, and combines elements of strategy, skill, and chance as players draw and discard tiles to build winning hands. Wong added that it spread internationally in the early 1900s after Western businessmen learned the game while on a business trip to China and brought it back. Eventually, it became “trendy” in the United States in the 1920s.
Over time, multiple play styles evolved in parallel. These include American mahjong (which relies on the National Mahjong Federation’s annual cards outlining specific winning combinations; Chinese mahjong allows for more flexible hand building and regional rule variations), which became embedded in Jewish American social culture after the National Mahjong Federation standardized its rules in the 1930s. Wong points out that while American mahjong is currently the focus of hotel clinics and retreats, interest in other styles has increased in recent years.
The timing of the hotel match nights and clinics coincides with a broader resurgence in mahjong itself, especially among younger players who are discovering or rediscovering the game (searches for mahjong clubs have increased by about 4,500 percent since 2025, according to Yelp data).
“In this age of social media, people are craving activities that create real human interaction and connection,” said Lily Ho, founder of Mahjong Movement, a community-based mahjong organization based in San Francisco. “Mahjong requires you to look at other people across the table and interact at close arm-in-arm distance.” The game’s slow pace is part of its appeal, she says. “Strategy is required, but luck is also a big factor. The unpredictability of chance is what makes the game interesting.”
Social media has also fueled the game’s recent rise in popularity. Over the past few years, platforms like Instagram and TikTok have introduced mahjong to new audiences through colorful tiles, custom mats, and videos that explain everything from beginner rules to advanced strategies.
“Thanks to social media, people who weren’t previously connected to the game are now more aware of the game,” says Wong. “And a lot of people are getting back into the game because they may have grown up watching their relatives play it. So it’s feeding itself in the sense that more people are playing it.”
The game also received regular spikes in mainstream attention in conjunction with pop culture moments, such as after the release of a movie. joy luck club and after that crazy rich asiansBoth featured mahjong (Hong Kong and Singaporean versions, respectively) prominently as a cultural touchpoint.
“Hotels are increasingly focused on creating memorable experiences and fostering connections, and mahjong naturally brings people together,” says Stacey White, founder of Mahjong House, which makes mahjong tiles and mats.
For an establishment that positions itself as a gathering space for both tourists and locals, the social interaction built into the game gives strangers a reason to sit together. Here are five hotels in the United States that offer a mahjong experience.
broadmoor
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Located 9,100 feet atop Cheyenne Mountain, Cloud Camp is one of the most remote wilderness outposts. broadmoora network of all-inclusive resorts in historic Colorado Springs Resort. With 15 guest cabins and seven lodge rooms, a day here typically revolves around horseback riding, hiking, campfire dinners, and, more recently, mahjong.
In collaboration with local mahjong instructors, the Mahj Squad, the resort regularly hosts “Camp Marge” weekends focused on American mahjong instruction and organized play. Games are played around the massive stone fireplace in the wood-lined Grand Dining Hall or in the Overlook, a gathering space with panoramic views stretching from Pikes Peak to the plains below Colorado Springs. The atmosphere is more of a sociable retreat, with a mix of long-time players and newcomers, who gather around the table for hours in between other activities scheduled on the premises. The next sessions are scheduled for May 31-June 2 and September 13-15, 2026.
Conrad Washington DC
Washington DC
Conrad Washington, D.C. Sometimes, the usual lounge chatter is interrupted by the sharp click of mahjong tiles. The hotel recently partnered with regional retailer Talk Tile to Me to launch a series of monthly Mahjong 101 clinics. This session brings together hotel guests and locals for a two-hour introduction to American Mahjong, focusing on tile identification, rules, flow of play, winning conditions, and more. “As important as it is to play mahjong, it is also important to unravel the mysteries of mahjong, and to ensure that our guests are confident and fluent at the table,” says Kelly Collis, the hotel’s marketing director.
Each night is divided into guided instruction and open play, with two tables reserved for lessons and two tables reserved for experienced players. Hotels will round out the event with themed cocktails, mocktails and light bites to keep guests entertained long after the game ends. Rather than being a one-off activity, the series is intended to serve as a regular social event that brings locals to the hotel around shared interests rather than the traditional networking or nightlife scene.
bowie house
Fort Worth, Texas
Mahjong has been part of Bowie House’s identity almost from its inception. Since opening in December 2023, the Fort Worth facility has regularly hosted American Mahjong-focused lesson nights and open play sessions, partnering with local Mahjong Club instructors to teach both beginners and experienced players the rules of the National Mahjong League.
On game nights, locals and hotel guests flock to Billet, the hotel’s game room, and Mulberry, a library-style lounge where tables are already set with custom mats and mahjong sets from Bowie House. Beginners crowd around an instructor learning the rhythm of the tiles, while experienced players settle in for long rounds nearby.
The J, Autograph Collection
San Francisco, California
Jay, Autograph Collection takes the mahjong trend from a decidedly neighborhood-driven angle. Since September 2025, this property has partnered with Mahjong Movement, a program run by the Delta Chinatown Initiative and Chinatown Renaissance, to host the biweekly Thursday night series “Mahjong + Martini” on the third floor restaurant’s outdoor terrace. The idea arose from the Jay’s proximity to San Francisco’s Chinatown and a desire to bring more of the community into the hotel’s space, said Todd Stutz, the hotel’s director of sales and marketing.
The format combines instruction and social play, with members of the Mahjong movement teaching both American and Hong Kong-style mahjong to hotel guests and locals. Tickets cost $15 and include cocktails. (The bar is big on concepts, including serving drinks named after mahjong terms like “pon” and “chō.”) That’s the only mention of cost. Are the others free?
Barnsley Resort
Adairsville, Georgia
At Barnsley Resort in northern Georgia, mahjong is one of the newest additions to the resort’s lineup of hobby-based retreats. The facility launched its first mahjong retreat in December 2025 after connecting with Steel Margenorius of Johns Creek, an Atlanta-area mahjong group that helped co-host a holiday-themed weekend retreat for about 50 players. Since then, Barnsley has expanded this concept into a steady calendar of workshops, open play sessions and themed retreats, including a recent mother-daughter mahjong weekend.
Rather than limiting gaming to one lounge or activity room, resorts move sessions throughout the property. On summer weekends, open play takes place under the shaded portico, while large retreats are held around the fireplace in Georgian Hall to the backdrop of holiday music. For instruction, the resort has partnered with Mahjong Memories, a social club and mahjong league in nearby Cartersville, which teaches everyone from first-time players to guests looking to hone their strategy.